The essential oil ingesting controversy is the real deal.
Don’t EVER ingest essential oils. They’ll burn your esophagus.
It’s ok to ingest essential oils. We take flu bombs when we feel unwell and they have like 15 drops of oil in them. We’re fine.
I hear it ALL the time.
When I teach classes.
When I attend classes.
In articles all over the internet
From many uninformed and uneducated people
So many people have differing opinions about whether or not it’s safe to ingest essential oils.
Some people say you should never ingest essential oils and then they state some person they follow who said so.
Others will say that you can ingest essential oils and then spout off something their MLM company taught them.
The Truth of the Matter about Essential Oil Ingesting
I’m ready to get down to the brass tacks here. The truth. The facts. Let’s ditch the fear and learn the facts. Then you can choose to make your own informed decision.
Sound good?
Disclosure/Disclaimer
Before I move on, in full disclosure, I must say that I use doTERRA essential oils. Yes, they are from direct sales and yes, they are the best essential oils in the world. However, I am not blinded and, just like I scrutinize sourcing, ingredients and quality in food, cosmetics and toiletries, I do the same with essential oils.
Don’t let my disclosure stop you from reading if you are not a doTERRA user though.
In this article, I am not regurgitating anything doTERRA says. I am simply sharing facts from my independent reading research and education as a Certified Essential Oil Coach (by the AADP).
Did you know that you eat essential oils every day – most likely without knowing it?
Yep, they are in many foods and they have been for decades. These ingredients are added for flavor and as preservatives. There are a variety of essential oils that have been put on the GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) list which means they are safe for ingestion.
The French, English and German Schools of Aromatherapy, the Education Matters
The controversy of whether ingesting essential oils is safe or not originated between three schools of medicine. I’d like to highlight the differences between them here.
French School of Medicine
They put significance on taking oils internally but use the other two ways (topical and aromatic) as well. For topical applications, with some oils, they apply oils undiluted. They agree with essential oil ingesting.
According to David Stewart, PhD., “in rare cases, those of the French school may also administer essential oils directly into living tissues via hypodermic injections, as with certain cancerous tumors. However, this practice is reserved for licensed physicians only.”
English School of Medicine
They emphasize using massage with carrier oils with a dilution rate of 2-5%. Skin is the primary organ of absorption.
German School of Medicine
The German school emphasizes inhalation as the optimal way to receive essential oil benefits.
{By the way, if you’d like to learn more in-depth about these different schools of thought, I strongly recommend reading the book The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple.}
The influence of each of these schools of thought runs deep. You will automatically know, by the way a person approaches essential oils (with fear or confidence), what school of medicine they have been trained in or influenced by.
In the United States, the most followed and used essential oil usage are the English and French. In fact, there is a great competition between these two schools of thought.
The result?
The controversy you read all over the internet about whether ingesting oils is safe or not!
Deeper About the English School and Essential Oil Ingesting
Madame Marguerite Maury (who was not a physician) focused on non-medical uses of essential oils founding the Maury Method which became the foundation for the English school of thought.
Robert Tisserand, who was associated with the fragrance and massage industry became a lover and user of the Maury Method.
Additionally, the English relied on scientific research on animals using perfume (synthetic fragrance) or food-grade (non-therapeutic) oils and only applied isolated compounds from each oil.
According to Dr. David Stewart, “This had led to a host of invalid applications of scientific data to the human use of oils.
They warn against using essential oils used neat (no dilution) or orally. The English think these ways are dangerous and that only trained, certified professionals can or should use essential oils.
The National Association of Holistic Aromatherapists (NAHA) and the Aromatherapy Registration Council (ARC) are American institutions that are English leaning in their thought and practices.
Deeper About the French School and Essential Oil Ingesting
This was started in France by medical doctors who were interested in healing disease and maintaining health. One of the most prominent doctors in this school was Jean Valnet, M.D. who was a contemporary of Madame Maury.
Dr. Valnet wrote the first modern book (in French) on the practice of aromatherapy the French school way. He also used essential oils during WWII to treat the wounded. Interestingly, Mr. Tisserand translated and published the English translation of Valnet’s book.
The French emphasize therapy more than “aroma” when using essential oils. Furthermore, they rely on studies and research using humans and therapeutic grade quality essential oils.
According to David Stewart, Ph.D, the French school relies, “to a great extent on empirical and anecdotal evidence in their practices.
Another viewpoint the French school holds is that anyone, professionally trained or not, can use essential oils safely.
Which of the three schools do you find you identify with?
Three Factors to Consider When Choosing Essential Oils to Ingest or Not
1 | Quality and Sourcing
So many essential oils on the market are adulterated, floating in pesticides or caustic preservatives and often even contain mold, fungus and heavy metals. Many batches are not tested thoroughly or properly.
Furthermore, most oils are bought and sold using brokers which are much like land developers. Each of them cares about the profit, not necessarily the quality and safety of the end product or the citizens in the city or the farmers who grew the plants.
The results of the oils on the shelves are dangerous oils that people use improperly and get harmed by.
In contrast, high-quality oils that are sourced ethically, and safely without the use of brokers result in safe, therapeutic oils of medicinal quality. There are five important aspects to consider when choosing an essential oil brand.
*Not all oils are created equal*
Therapeutic Grade Oil Requirements:
- Plants cultivated in organically grown (or wild) and clean environments
- From the proper genus, species and cultivar
- No use of herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers or solvents in the soil, on the plant or during cultivation and distilling.
- Steam-distilled or cold-pressed
- Distillation is done in stainless steel or glass, not plastic
2 | Your Health History
Using essential oils safely and effectively requires you to know (or have credible resources to check) the contraindications that may arise with your health history and or medication usage.
For instance, do you know the essential oils that should not be used any of the three ways on or around people with epilepsy?
Do you know that certain oils can exacerbate blood pressure dysfunction?
Are you aware that some oils can ramp up the immune system too much and cause a flare for those with chronic illness if used too much? Learn more about immune-stimulating and supporting oils here.
These are all things I teach my FOJO VIPS so they know which oils to choose for their unique health history.
3 | Quantity
Dosage plays an important role in the safety of ingesting therapeutic essential oils. In reading on the internet about these “flu bomb” that contain upwards of 15 drops per capsule, I cringe.
First of all, that is way too much essential oil for the liver to metabolize. That much can cause undue distress and inflammation in the body and the organs.
Second, more is not better when using essential oils. I teach this in all my live and online classes.
Third, the constituents of each oil are different. Some are hotter (spicy phenols), some are known to kill lots of good and bad bacteria (which can cause die-off reactions).
Fourth, the size and age of the human or pet using the essential oils should be considered when using essential oils in any of the three ways.
>>6ish drops of oil per application is safe (depending on size and age). Anymore can be quite risky.
Can All Essential Oils be Ingested?
Not all essential oils are safe to ingest. Now, there is some controversy here as well but as a general rule of thumb, Birch and Wintergreen are oils that are not to be ingested. They contain high levels of Methyl Salicylate which can be extremely toxic to the liver.
Though this list is not exhaustive, some other oils you should not ingest are:
- Arborvitae
- Cypress
- Cedarwood
Essential Oil Research
If you would like to read some of the studies done on both animals and humans using essential oils, visit NCBI/PubMed and search there. You will be amazed at how much research has been done. Now, much of it is done on animals but there are more and more studies being done on humans which you can easily find at the above link.
The School of Aromatherapy I Follow and am Trained in
Personally, I follow the French school of aromatherapy. It just fits for me. I am all about using quality ingredients in all the products I use and the fact that the English school of aromatherapy bases their research on using sub-par, dangerous, synthetic ingredients for their foundation is enough to steer me away.
Additionally, even though animal research can tell us a lot and help humans in many ways, I prefer consensual research on humans scientifically and clinically. The French School aligns with that.
With that, we use our doTERRA essential oils in all three ways for our health – aromatic, topical and internally.
With Education on Essential Oil Ingesting, What do you Choose?
Now that you know about the different schools of aromatherapy and what they are based upon, do you find that you lean towards a certain one more?
I’d love to know in the comments! Share which one and why.
Let’s bury the hatchet with the controversy by becoming educated instead. Sound like a plan?
Leave a Reply